Habs acquire defenceman Weaver from Panthers; Price back on ice

The Canadiens have acquired defenceman Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2015.

Weaver, a 5-foot-10, 183-pounder who shoots right, has played 55 games with the Panthers this season, picking up six assists and 23 penalty minutes to go along with a minus-9. He has 101 hits and 94 blocked shots while averaging 18:47 of ice time. Four Canadiens have more hits this season than Weaver: Alexei Emelin (137), Douglas Murray (118), P.K. Subban (111) and Lars Eller (110). Four Canadiens have more blocked shots: Josh Gorges (171), Andrei Markov (140), Subban (100) and Douglas Murray (97).

In 585 career regular-season games, the 35-year-old Weaver has 7-79-86 totals and 213 PIM. (Photo above is of Weaver checking Habs’ Max Pacioretty during game last season.)

“This is actually my first time being traded,” Weaver said on the Canadiens’ website. “I was at Pittsburgh’s training camp and I was picked up on waivers by Vancouver and that’s the closest I’ve been to a trade. Fortunately over the years I haven’t really had to deal with this but it’s an exciting situation going into an Original Six team that’s in a high spot in the standings and in a playoff position. I’m really excited to be coming to Montreal.”

The Panthers also placed former Canadien Scott Gomez on waivers Tuesday. In 29 games this season, the 34-year-old Gomez has 1-7-8 totals and is minus-9. It was also reported Tuesday afternoon that the Panthers had acquired goalie Roberto Luongo from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for goalie Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias.

The NHL trade deadline is at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The Canadiens held an optional practice Tuesday afternoon in Segunda, Calif., with seven players taking part at the beginning. Goaltender Dustin Tokarski was joined by Lars Eller, Ryan White, Francis Bouillon, George Parros, Brandon Prust and Michael Bournival. After undergoing some medical treatments for his lower-body injury, goalie Carey Price joined them. Price, who has missed all four games since the Olympic break with the injury, spent about 15 minutes on the ice with goalie coach Stephane Waite. He plans to skate on his own again Wednesday.

Coming off a 2-1 loss in Los Angeles Monday night, the Canadiens continue their four-game West Coast road trip Wednesday night when they visit the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m., TSN-HABS, RDS, TSN Radio 690). Peter Budaj will make his fifth straight start in goal replacing Price.

“It felt good to get on the ice,” Price told reporters in California after practice. “It’s coming down to the important part of the year and I want to go into this stretch 100 per cent. I’m feeling good and progressing. The last 20 games of the year are a real mental grind and I want to make sure I’m prepared for the rest of the year and the playoffs. We still have a lot of hockey left this year and I want to make sure I’m good to go. It’s manageable but I want it to be 100 per cent before we go into the important stages of the year.”

After Wednesday’s game, the Canadiens travel to Phoenix to face the Coyotes on Thursday (9 p.m., TSN-HABS, RDS, TSN Radio 690) before wrappingup the trip Saturday in San Jose against the Sharks (10 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

1,719 Comments

Do I wish they could have upgraded the offense or the #3 defense position instead? Of course, but don’t underestimate the value of every position on a roster. In a parity league, sometimes it will come down to who has the best fourth line or the best special teams or more importantly, not having obvious weaknesses to be exploited. . The Weise deal, although for fringe NHLers, has really given the team a good looking 4th line and will pay dividends. The Habs have been struggling and juggling with the 5/6 pairing all season, I really hope Weaver can come in and provide some stability to the pairing.

As I posted in the last thread…. Weaver has played extremely well in Florida. Plays the toughest minutes on the team (zone starts and quality of opposition both show he is their most trusted defensive dman), plays the most PK minutes (and is successful despite the fact that when he leaves the ice the panthers PK sucks), and is right handed.

This is a very strong pickup and I’ve put all the fancy stats and scouting report in the article at last word.

A lot of talk about how ‘Ready’ Tinordi looks. I though he has looked pretty bad since the call up. He goes way out of position to make contact far too much resulting in a couple odd man rushes against the habs in the past couple games (In limited minutes). Made a brutal play prior to fighting Kyle Clifford last night (I assume in an attempt to overshadow it). I don’t think Tinordi is ready at all personally, and would go as far as to say he has looked lost out there at times to me. I will say he did look much better in the second half of last nights game, but half a game is not enough.

He has done that and that is his downfall right now. Then again that is the same uissue both PK and Emelin also have. On the flip side he has better than I thought he would be with the puck and he skated out of trouble a couple times. I think he needs 50 -100 games or so with reasonable minutes and he will be fine. Needs to adjust to the speed but catch 22 is how can you get the experience to play experienced hockey…the AHL does nothing for this as he likely gets away with it down there.

Classic case of “they need experience, but can’t get the experience”. If Montreal can live with the mistakes made by Emelin, Gorges, Bouillion, Murray, Diaz, etc., surely they can live with the mistakes that the next generation will make. Especially when the next generation has considerably more upside than any of the names I just mentioned…..

Unless this is a precursor to other moves, this makes zero sense to me. Or is Bergevin’s goal to create an entire roster under 5′ 10″?
We desperately need help on the wings, and he gets another depth d-man?!

The one team(Ana) traded Dustin Penner to the other team(Wash). The team that moved Penner in return got what is called a draft pick. The draft is where every year teams select the best available young players in a predetermined order (based on previous years finish). There are 7 rounds to the draft.
Sorry ..had to be a smart ass!

1. No offensive ability whatsoever. A shot players would be willing to block with their teeth.
2. Most of the time he is defensively sound, but has problems with big, strong forwards.
3. Great timing when it comes to hits (except when leaves his position to do so)
4. Gets under the skin of the opposition a lot
5. Isn’t afraid to mix it up and he plays a pretty steady game

Tinordi is a major downgrade on Markov or Gorges. He is not ready at all to take a top 4 NHL role. I would be very surprised if either one is moved, but wouldn’t be surprised if tinordi was moved himself in a package deal.

I am just throwing shiznit at the wall here, hoping something sticks… Maybe MB is thinking that, with Tinordi and NB, the Bulldogs may get 2, maybe 3 rounds of playoff hockey. The same can’t be said (with or without them) in Mtl. Playoff hockey may be what they need in this stage of development. I dunno, just guessing.

I think one of them may be traded. If MB wants Weaver instead of one of those guys down the stretch and playoffs, then it doesn’t bode well. Beaulieu was supposed to have made Diaz expendable, and now he won’t be playing another game?

Unless another trade for Markov is in the works, which I doubt, I think Tin or Beau will be part of a package deal.

To me this trade makes Josh Gorges expendable.
If I am MB I now have two clear goals by the 3pm deadline;
#1 – flip boullion / murray for a pick (5-7 to recover Weaver pick)
#2 – make a package of Eller/DD + Gorges + picks/prospects for a bonafied scoring winger.

I like this move as I have always liked Weaver. I don’t think people will say he is small when they see him hit. Very solid on his skates, like a bigger version of Cube.

The Habs were not deep in RH defensemen and I’m a big fan of having players on their correct side. Given that their most likely playoff opponents will be Detroit or Tampa, they needed another mobile defenseman, especially a veteran. The Habs now have a very solid bottom pairing, whether they slide Beaulieu, Tinordi, or Murray next to Weaver.

A previous poster mentioned:
“…Roberto Luongo isn’t moping, but the feeling is that the Canucks at this point would listen to any offer from anyone for his services.”
—————
Luongo turns 35 next month.
Why would Luongo mope?

After this season, Luongo has almost $ 34 Million of Salary left on his ‘guaranteed contract’ that runs through the 2021-2022 season, with an annual Cap Hit of $5,333,333 for each and every season until then.

His career gross earnings to date are around $64 Million USD.

Florida would be a nice landing spot for him and family, yet the Canucks ownership best be ready to eat a large portion of those future earnings/Cap Hit if a deal is to be had.

If the Canucks opted for a buyout (Compliance or Regular) it would cost them $1,410,667/year until 2029-2030 (no typo) and Luongo would become a UFA.

I hate to tell these kinds of stories, but pretty good buddy of mine is close with someone who works equipment for the Canucks. Says the dressing room is a pretty poisonous place in Vancouver right now. Apparently Torts is running an extremely tight ship, and the players are not enjoying the environment he is demanding.

I can;t imagine it is much fun between Torts, the Luongo situation that has lingered for years, An agent turned Gm,etc Years of underachieving and frustration…Kesler now wanting out…not mcuh to be happy about.

Yup lots of crap there, my buddies comment was specific to how Torts demands behaviour in dressing room before and moreso after games. No one is allowed to have guests in for autographs etc… Very military type regiments and the guys just aren’t having any fun in the locker room anymore.

I think Torts has that effect on locker rooms. Nothing like watching a full grown man, who is supposed to be your professional compass, throw one irrational tantrum after another. Nobody wants to follow that into battle…..

I’ll qualify that by saying I am only basing my analysis on what I have seen on TV. Normally that wouldn’t carry much weight, but Torts loves to express himself in front of the camera, so it might be a fair barometer in this case.

I like the concept of building from the draft and building from within. I like Bergevin’s concept of being patient, but can anyone please explain the following:

1. Greg Pateryn has been the best Dman in hamilton, is a right handed shot, and is big and somewhat physical. WHY hasnt he had a shot yet? If im him, im starting to get pretty pissed off at the way this organization is treating me, considering nate and tinman have had chances and played less of a role in hamilton and filled less of a potential role in montreal.

2. How can PK subban continue to regress as a player under therrien? Eller needs a role otherwise his regression will continue. As much as i hate to say it, Babcock knows a thing or two and maybe we should stop playing dmen on their off sides, especially considering the rinks are smaller so dmen have less time to make adjustments and therefore make it even more relevant to play their correct side.

3. Dont mind weaver, think hes good value, but whats the point? I have to believe something else is in the works.

I agree with the Pateryn comment. Obviously they are more comfortable with Weaver’s NHL experience, which is sensible but doesn’t help instill confidence in your youngsters. As for the playoffs, Weaver has a grand total of 11 post-season games in his career, so Habs aren’t getting a proven playoff guy.

New guy: 5′ 10″, 183 lbs, 35 yrs old, defence……hmmm, so where exactly is management going with this team?? We desperately need scoring and have a glut of defencemen; is there some sort multi-player package in the works???

Hmmm …. Canucks season headed south, I wonder if Gillis (who seems to have the perfect disposition to post here) is contemplating a shot at fan support by getting another ‘ local ‘ talent into the fold.

Josh Gorges, who may now be redundant in MTL, is from BC. Mike Weaver is a former Canuck, and Eller is a fully NHL-ready C-man. It’s been mentioned that Kesler’s agent is in Vancouver. Oh, and the two clubs have recently done business (Diaz – Weise)

Solid pick up. I expect another move now as well. Booey to Nashville. Then as always- Bergy will do NOTHING else but build thru the draft as we wait patently for #25. I hear Price is out another week – any confirmation?
Markov will sign for two years at $5.5 M. I hope we sign Murray for another year as well at the same price tag – $1.5 M. Nothing wrong with him as our 6 or 7 Dman. If Weaver pans out – may we keep him instead because he does shoot right and is younger (just not as big)?
bottom line – we got our depth dman that shoots right. don’t expect anything else unless the Oilers offer up Yakupov for Markov and Eller. Stay tuned.

It’s funny ’cause all the trades are for 4th and 5th round picks. So many teams are on the “bubble” that they are hedging. Get someone that maybe can help them get a playoff spot, but don’t give up too much in case it doesn’t work out…..

All the talk of Brodeur or Halak to Minny, and they get Bryzgalov instead.

He would have been Canadiens 4th eading scoring forward….and teams biggest forward…not worth a 4th. Yikes what is going on in the NHL this deadline? Weaver gets a 5th and Penner a 4th? Conacher and Corvo waived?

my lines
plex, gio and either chucky or bourny
dd, patches and gally
eller, briere and either bourny or chucky (speed line)
white and any of moen, weise or prust
defense
pk and emelin (back to his normal side)
markov and weaver (pateryn or nygren next year)
any of murray bealieu tiny
trade georges
retire frankie
dump bourque
do I need to explain

GO HABS GO!!!

“Always looking to better my team as long as it’s in the image of myself so I can re-live my career through my trades of d-men”-M/B

********************************************************
“Fans are entitled to express their opinion, but most of the comments on talk radio and on The Gazette’s Hockey Inside/Out website ranged from the mildly uninformed to the outrageously stupid” – Pat Hickey.

Team 1040 Vancouver discussing the possibility of a Ryan Kesler getting traded before the deadline. His agent is in town, they had dinner last night. The pundits think they should trade him now, and get some players back that they can ‘audition’ and groom for the last twenty games of the season.

Roberto Luongo isn’t moping, but the feeling is that the Canucks at this point would listen to any offer from anyone for his services, so basically a salary-contract dump. I noticed that the Panthers put Scott Clemmensen on waivers.

Apparently Canucks management is holed up in Phoenix, will stay there on Wednesday for the deadline.

Morale is good in the dressing room, although the Canucks’ dressing room is supposedly a less boisterous one than normal. Ryan Kesler is moody and a little grumpy, but that’s normal for him. Any ill-will is some players resentment at Coach Tortorella for not getting enough playing time.

———————————————————————–My sources are unreliable, but their info is fascinating.–Woody Paige

We have 2 depth areas…goaltending and Dmen depth. So why would we go and get another Dman. Out of our starting 6, our 7th damn in Bouillon, and our #8-9 dmen in AHL (Beaulieau/Drew) why in the world did we go get Weaver.

If Tinordi or Murray are removed from our line up, I will be even more disappointed. We need size. We don’t need Dman depth…so we go get exactly WHAT WE DON’T NEED – A SMALL DEPTH DMAN.

the only serious need on our D corp is someone to play with PK. That would cost more then we have to get, so I figured MB will be patient till Tinordi or Beaulieu can fill that role. But unless he went out and got a #2-3 type Dman then a dman was not what this team needs.

So we are heading into the playoffs with an older, smaller D then what we iced yesterday.

Pathetic. this team isn’t all that great. Now is the time to allow Beaulieu and Tinordi to develop their NHL game so that next year they are ahead of the curve, and possibly with some smart moves, we can start next year a much better team then this year.

I’m guessing this guy was signed because Bergevin is getting some pretty good offers for Markov or is possibly working on another trade that would involve a defenceman. Maybe the trades don’t work out and we’re stuck with him, maybe not….

The HIO brass is really slow…..this is like what, an hour old story. We’ve already freaked out, stuffed our faces, had about 5 shots of grampa’s old cough medicine and came back here to the site fully calm and rationale. Now hopefully Gomez comes back, or metropolit or halpern or darche, then we can do it all again! Rinse, then repeat!

You have to laugh at the kind of moves MB makes. Not that it hurts the team, it’s just with all the talk about Kesler, Moulson, Kane, Stewart, Vanek etc. out there, MB storms in and picks up Weaver (likely for Hamilton) and that might be it. Like last year with Drewiske, which turned out to be a useless move.

I don’t know why I find it funny. It’s just like opening a big boxed present at Xmas and finding a $5 gift certificate for Winners.

Diaz was not the greatest at D this year and we upgraded with Weezy. Drewskie I can’t explain at all. He was just depth for last year but the fact he was resigned in the offseason I don’t really understand

Mike Weaver won’t be in Hamilton. He plays 20 min a night for Florida. PK. Tough minutes. He’ll immediately be in the top 5 in hits and blocked shots for Habs. If no one else gets traded, he’ll be in the 3rd pair replacing Doug Murray, who is too slow to play D on this team.

Murray played 20 minutes just last night against one of the better teams in the NHL. He keeps the other team honest, especially in front of the net. He should not (and will not) have his spot taken by Weaver. Tinordi will likely be sent down, which IMO is not encouraging, but that is another conversation.

He is not a bad player and probably can help a bit, but lets not forget that the minutes and numbers are while playing with one of the worst teams in the league. The guy has played for 6 teams in 11 years, and 4 of those were with the Panthers. So 6 teams in 8 years. And was never traded, always signed as a UFA. Never drafted. Just an average to below-average NHL player.

Yeah he didn’t cost much, but Montreal has not improved considerably as a result of his acquisition. And he may just end up costing Tinordi or Beaulieu a chance to play down the stretch and into the playoffs. Which may be good from a contractual perspective, but won’t contribute to their confidence and overall development.

OK this is crazy…people coming on here and saying there is overreaction. This is a team that currenttly (as far s we know (maybe Gorges hurt?) is actaully floating too many dmen right now. Beualieu who is much needed is in the minors, Tinordi just had a decent showing against a top team and held his own with Kings tough guy. The Habs cannot ice a 2nd pp pairing on D and have not established possession in the last how many pps on the second half because of this? Hard to organize a pp breakout when you are actually outnumbered 4-3 in energetic bodies.

Corvo was available…yes he is not great defensively, but Weaver is not great offensively…Corvo was free and has a lower cap hit. What is Montreal lacking? they are a top 10 defensive team…they are a bottom feeder offensively. Both guys are RH, there is not edge either way in toughness department. So what did Habs gain?

Everyone can say overeaction but I think it is more disbelief…sure news will follow and we will all react then but in the meantime a collective “what the F&@$!” is the normal reaction right now.

Someone has to go on D and to add someone with noone leaving? and for a guy who is not an upgrade? this is more than strange. Sure it may be a precursor to something else…that may or may not happen….but right now…this has happened.

I don’t doubt Mike Weaver’s ability to be a pk dman or a bottom pairing stay at home guy…I seriously question his fit with this team…at this point ….now by Wed could all be diff’t but right now? what the f&*$?!

Perhaps Gorges hurt, or Gorges on the move? if that is the case I get it.

Fair points and questions. My comments regarding Corvo on previous thread were because we have had offensive only dmen before like Kaberle etc.. and they didn’t help our team. Obviously another trade will occur or indeed a Gorges or someone is hurt, thus the move.

Why have both Ottawa and Carolina traded back for him over that period? Why did 6 pro scouts decide he was worth trading for ? always diff points of view….there has to be more to this…either Murray or Gorges is going IMO. Unless this truly is much ado about nothing and Bouillon is going and this is a depth move but I don’t imagine you trade for that. Either way another obstacle just got put in Tinordi and Beulieu’s way.